Wicked Local

Stephen Corcoran is the owner of Sky Restaurant in Norwood and 3 in Franklin.

Corcoran initially worked for the Back Bay Restaurant Group, the owners of Joe’s American Bar & Grill and Papa Razzi, before branching off on his own.

“I worked for them for about 10 years. I always loved the business and am entrepreneurial,” Corcoran said. “It was kind of a no-brainer for me to open my own place.”

He did this in 1997, when he opened the first Sky restaurant in Sudbury. Norwood followed in 2002, and 3 opened in 2007. He has since sold the Sky in Sudbury.

Sky is located at 1369 Boston-Providence Turnpike in Norwood. Sky is open for dinner only, from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 3 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant also offers a Sunday jazz brunch from Labor Day through June.

For more information on Sky, visit www.sky-restaurant.com.

Why should people come try Sky?

There are many, many reasons. I think what sets us apart from other restaurants is the level of quality we put into every aspect of the customer experience at Sky. Our staff has a sense of hospitality. Everyone here wants to make sure our guests have a truly special experience, and they work hard to accomplish that goal.

What is your favorite meal on the menu?

I actually taste every single menu item and every drink we serve. In order for it to be on the menu, I have to like it. My favorite item on the menu is probably our prime New York sirloin steak. You can’t get a better piece of meat. We don’t market ourselves as a steakhouse, but you’ll find the same quality of steak here at the steakhouses in town, if not better.

What makes Sky’s dessert menu unique?

We have a pastry chef, which is unusual, because they cost a lot of money. However, I think that sets us apart. What we try to do is take traditional items and put a creative twist or our own twist on them. For example, we have a fondue, which is very popular- it’s a fondue from the 70s made contemporary. We also have a vanilla bean crème brulee. That is as old school as you can get. Some of those traditional favorites are traditional favorites for a reason. Sometimes, you shouldn’t mess with those, and we don’t.

How has the restaurant industry changed since you opened in 1997?

The biggest change has been our guests are far more educated today in terms of quality than they were 17 years ago. Our guests look for and expect that quality on their plate. I think it’s because people are dining out more often. People are exposed to more restaurants and are going out more frequently, and with that, their expectation of restaurant quality has gone up a lot.